Tell us your favourite word...
Whether it's the Arabic 'assalamalaikum' (ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ), Jamaican Patois 'liming', Chinese 'jiātíng' 家庭 or the classic Brummie 'Bab': Birmingham is full of beautiful words that have special meaning to all of us, and we want to celebrate them!
About 'Home Words'
We're on a mission to collect Birmingham’s favourite and most cherished words and turn them into a poetry extravaganza to celebrate our city's rich multilingual diversity.
We're asking for people to submit:
- words from foreign and heritage languages
- specialist words from hobbies or interests
- words from dialects and slang - from the West Midlands and across the world
For example: Birmingham residents Carol and Avia both submitted the word 'tallawah' from Jamaican Patois. Tallawah means 'strong' or 'fearless'. Referring to the small island of Jamaica, people often say "we likkle (little) but we tallawah".
Meanwhile, a local young person submitted a word from gaming slang: 'sweats' which means 'hardcore players'. When playing Fortnite, it's important to avoid attacks by 'sweats!'
Two ways to get involved
If you live or have lived in Birmingham, we'd love for you to participate in our campaign.
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Submit your 'Home Word'
Send us a special word that you use at home, but not everyone would understand. Submit your word using our simple online form before 30 April.
Teachers, youth workers or anyone with groups of people that want to get involved can download a printable worksheet on this page. Once filled in, please send scans or photos of the forms to birmingham@literacytrust.org.uk
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Write a poem using Birmingham's 'Home Words'
Over 400 words have already been submitted to the 'Home Words' campaign, representing 75 languages: from Arabic to Yoruba via Brummie!
We challenge you to write a poem using a selection of the 'Home Words': to celebrate our city's thriving multilingual culture.
You can download a 'snapshot' list of 30 words, as well as the full word list on this page. You can also find a poetry writing worksheet to get you started.
Why is this important?
Writing enjoyment in 8 to 18-year-olds is at an all-time low with fewer than 3 in 10 children and young people saying they enjoyed writing in their free time. Our recent children and young people's writing research shows that low literacy levels can also make it harder for children to get the most out of life. It is more important than ever to create opportunities to reconnect young people with writing that promotes creativity, self-expression and mental wellbeing.
Teachers: check out our Home Words CPD training
If you are a teacher or community worker: watch back our English as an Additional Language (EAL) Literacy CPD training to deepen your understanding of multilingualism and how encouraging its use amongst all ages improves language and literacy skills.